ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. Careers

    Access current vacancies and understand what it’s like to work here at ICAS.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Find a CA
  • Careers
  • Contact us
  • Become a CA
  • CA jobs
  • SCABA
  • ICAS Foundation
  1. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Manage my membership
    3. Benefits of membership
    4. Professional development
    5. Mentoring
    6. Member rewards
    7. CA jobs
    8. Area networks
    9. International communities
    10. Get involved
    11. CA Connect
    12. CA magazine
    13. Top Young CAs
    14. Career breaks
    15. The ICAS member app
    16. Newly admitted members 2021
    17. CA Wellbeing
  2. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
  3. CA Students
    1. Studying with ICAS
    2. Timetables and exams
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
  4. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office (ATO)
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices (ATO)
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  5. Thought leadership
    1. Technology
    2. Trust
    3. Talent
    4. Research
    5. CA Agenda podcast
    6. CA Agenda videos
    7. ICAS webinars
    8. CA Summit
  6. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Charities
    5. Coronavirus
    6. Corporate and financial reporting
    7. Business and governance
    8. Ethics
    9. Insolvency
    10. Pensions
    11. Practice
    12. Public sector
    13. Sustainability
    14. Tax
  7. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  8. Governance
    1. At a glance
    2. Charter, rules and regulations
    3. Council
    4. Boards and key committees
    5. Public reporting
    6. Executive team
    7. Diversity
    8. Member research
  9. Contact us
    1. ICAS technical helpdesk
    2. ICAS logo request
  10. Careers
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS

From data to insights: Are you a modern finance leader?

  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
Dafydd Llewellyn , MD Concur By Dafydd Llewellyn, Managing Director, Concur

28 July 2017

A “modern-day” finance leader – but what does that mean? Here's the top six questions all finance leaders must ask themselves, from Concur's Dafydd Llewellyn.

Surely, we all behave in a modern way to some extent; using new technologies, adopting the latest tools, posting the odd tweet? However, if you find yourself with your head buried in spreadsheets more often than thinking about the strategic direction of your business then you may need to have a rethink.

But why now? The answer is simple, and all mainly down to that little thing that “modern” CIOs like to call digital disruption. Traditional skills and values still have a hugely important part to play but in this brave new digital world, having the ability to deliver quality insights and improved reporting is not only a priority, it’s become essential.

The time is right for an evolution

The scale of the evolution will depend on how modern a CFO or Finance Director you are already. The good news is, you may be more modern than you think. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to gauge how far you must go before being hailed as that modern finance leader.

1. Do you put customer experience at the heart of everything?

The true value of customer data is unlocked when customers are treated as unique individuals, providing the insightful fuel for future marketing campaigns. Are you enabling and encouraging teams in the business to use technology and strategies that put customers first?

2. Would you say you embrace or shy away from collaboration?

Develop meaningful collaborative relationships, both internally with other departments and with external suppliers and like-minded partners. Good communication and collaboration is one of the key features that sets modern finance leaders apart.

3. How innovative are you?

Don’t be afraid to be an early adopter. Hire and train the right people to keep up with the latest technologies to exploit digital to the max. Lead by example and scrutinise your own finance processes – are they modern or manual?

4. Which direction are you facing?

Be forward-thinking.By looking to the future, you can constantly evaluate new markets and seek opportunities to expand and grow. And yes, that means looking back to understand past performance, pitfalls to avoid and opportunities to grasp.

5. Are you an analytical person?

Monitor industry trends and forecasts. Along with analysis of the competitive landscape you’ll be able to create detailed business insight that drives assured decision-making.

6. The big S – are you Strategic?

Look beyond the numbers locked away in spreadsheets. Try and visualise the big picture, by adopting a long-term view that will shape future decision-making and influence strategy.

By embracing digital and adopting new cloud-based technologies, the modern-day finance leader is well-positioned to rise to this challenge. Seated at the heart of the business, you are perfectly placed to bring order from the chaos caused by this digital disruption. And this is what the business is looking for you to do. So, the question is – how modern do you feel?

If you’d like more information about the practices and perceptions of 500 finance leaders in the UK today, take a look at a recent report we commissioned – The Finance Leader Report.


About Concur

Dafydd Llewellyn is Managing Director of the UK SMB and Nationals team at Concur. For 13 years he’s been a central part of Concur’s success in the UK, helping businesses automate their complex expense and invoice processes. He’s seen the industry evolve from on-premise software to cloud solutions and, as someone who has spent years on the road, he’s passionate about how mobile technology can improve the lives of business travellers.

This blog is one of a series of articles from our commercial partners.
The views expressed are those of the commercial partner and not necessarily those of ICAS.

2021-04-alterledger 2021-04-alterledger
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba
ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: